Best Place to Relive Your '80s Childhood

High Scores Arcade

Many East Bay children of the '80s fondly remember Silverball Arcade, a dark space above Leopold Records in Berkeley where many hours — and even more quarters — were spent on classic games such as Defender, Spy Hunter, Joust, Galaga, Ms. Pac-Man, Tron, Q*Bert, and Donkey Kong. Now you can play all those games — and more — at High Scores Arcade on Park Street in Alameda. Originally opened by husband-and-wife Shawn and Meg Livernoche in Burlington, New Jersey, the old-school arcade relocated to the Island in 2013 and opened a second location in Hayward three years later. It's an excellent business model, built on nostalgia, classic jams on the jukebox, and good old-fashioned low-tech fun. But thankfully, no quarters are necessary; all the games are set to free mode and admission is just $6 for an hour or $12 for all-day. (Trust us, buy the all-day pass because an hour will go by in a flash.) And because it's open late on the weekends — till 11 p.m. in Alameda and midnight in Hayward — you can properly relive your youth without any of those pesky kids around.